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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
An important compendium of cliches from lesbian pulp throughout the mid-20th C. The novel makes for a quick introduction to lesbian fiction. Importantly, however, WHITE lesbian fiction. It's filled with apologetic, understanding black folks, whose challenges are overshadowed by the class struggles of the protagonist. This isn't to say class struggles aren't important -- after all, the earliest lesbian fiction ignores class entirely. So this novel is a step in the right direction, but I'm still looking for my lesbian bible.
hopeful
reflective
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was an interesting read that I have complicated feelings about, but overall they skew towards the negative. There are aspects of this book that have straightforwardly aged poorly, but I could be more forgiving of that if it wasn’t so uncritical of Molly. She certainly goes through a lot and faces a lot of adversity, but her perspectives are never really challenged. She’s just kind of good at everything and smarter than everyone in every situation. In some regard it’s admirable that nothing is able to take Molly down; I can appreciate that she has the kind of personality that people tend not to accept in female characters, especially when that character is a lesbian. Being that this is a coming of age novel though, I wish we saw more personal growth from her.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Very interesting philosophies from Brown in this debut novel. Reflective of its time in queer history and still highly relevant and reflective of biases and labeling within and outside of the queer community.
funny
inspiring
i love how unapolagetically authentic molly is and so true to herself like she is constantly sticking up for herself, it’s so beautiful
i love her straightforwardness i think this is one of the most true to herself, authentic narrators ive read
this book feels like it was written in the 90s or early 2000s but the fact it from 1973 is crazy
the whole Polina and her daughter alice situation had me loling, the way Molly hung out with Paul just to investigate and for the plot, it’s such a commentary on the way straight people will think they are more morally righteous or justified in their actions compared to a gay person when in reality they are the craziest most deranged ones
i think this is a book like “in the dream house” where it shows that lesbians can be bad people and that’s just part of their life like ive seen reviews saying its upsetting that this is a lesbian classic or associated with lesbianism bc the questionable parts but its like.. why does lesbianism have to be the only theme here and why does molly have to be a model lesbian? this is molly living her authentic self and part of that means liking women and other parts could be questionable but that’s the complexity of humans like so all lesbians are good people and should only be represented as such so we don’t get a bad rep from the straight community?… lesbians can be bad people! lesbians can be r*pists and the reviews that complain about molly acting this way doesn’t want to accept that these lesbians exist too. i also don’t think a lot of this stuff is supposed to be taken seriously it’s obviously a commentary on society
i relate to molly so much in her want to be in the country with fresh air and silence but knowing the city is the best chance she has to achieve her goals i feel such the same way about being in chicago and missing normal
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault, Antisemitism, Classism